Resnick article published in American Bankruptcy Law Journal

Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, N.Y. — Hofstra Law School’s Benjamin Weintraub Distinguished Professor of Bankruptcy Law Alan N. Resnick authored "Letter of Credit as a Landlord's Protection Against a Tenant's Bankruptcy:  Assurance of Payment or False Sense of Security?" recently published in The American Bankruptcy Law Journal.  The American Bankruptcy Law Journal publishes articles that have been peer-reviewed by leading bankruptcy scholars.  The Journal is published by the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges.
 
“In commercial lease transactions, landlords often accept letters of credit issued by a bank to secure the tenant's obligations,” said Resnick.  His research has found that courts are in disagreement, and some courts use faulty reasoning, on the degree of protection that a letter of credit gives the landlord in the event of the tenant's bankruptcy.

Resnick believes that “landlords should be aware that letters of credit, which are usually the most reliable form of credit enhancement, may provide a false sense of security rather than total protection in the event of the tenant's bankruptcy,” he said.  “I propose a judicial approach, as well as legislation, to correct this problem so that letters of credit will give landlord's greater protection consistent with general bankruptcy principles.”

A nationally-recognized authority on bankruptcy law, Resnick is Editor-in-Chief of “Collier on Bankruptcy,” the leading treatise on bankruptcy, and a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference.  He is a Fellow and former Scholar-in-Residence of the American College of Bankruptcy.

Resnick was appointed by Chief Justice William Rehnquist of the U.S. Supreme Court to serve for 18 years as a reporter and member of the Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules.  He has testified on proposed legislation before committees of Congress and the National Bankruptcy Review Commission.

Resnick was author of "Bankruptcy Law Manual," editor of "Bankruptcy Practice and Strategy" and co-editor (with the late Professor Eugene M. Wypyski) of the 17-volume “Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978:  A Legislative History.” 

He has also written articles that have appeared in the Boston College Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Rutgers Law Review and American Bankruptcy Law Journal, among others.

Resnick has taught in the bankruptcy, corporate reorganization, commercial law and contracts areas for more than 30 years.  He served as Interim Dean of Hofstra Law School from 2004-2005, and as Associate Dean from 1979 to 1981.

Resnick is also of counsel to Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in New York City, a leading national law firm, where he consults on complex business restructurings and major Chapter 11 cases.